Printed in 1965, Shipboard Girl is one of Roy Lichtenstein’s earliest prints depicting his cartoon heroines, which are now synonymous with the Pop Artist.
The print depicts a closely cropped profile of a comic-book style heroine, closing her eyes as she seems to be laughing, in a state of bliss. In a composition that defies horizon lines, behind the woman is the decking of a ship, where Lichtenstein has used his trademark Ben-day dots to represent the sky and sea, and adding texture to the print. Her lips are a bold red, and her hair is yellow, both of which emphasise her ‘female traits’, alongside the thick black outlines which emphasise her eyebrows and long eyelashes. Like many of Lichtenstein’s prints representing women, Lichtenstein presents a revision of the glamorization of women within visual culture.